Improvement in screw-wrenches



UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN HEGARTY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN SC-REW-WRENCHES.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 55,100, dated May 29,1366.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN HEGARTY, of Jersey City, in the county ofHudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Screw-Wrenches; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, makinga part of t-his specification,in which- Figure l is a perspective view ot' a wrench constructedaccording to my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken in theline x x otl Fig. 1, and viewed in the direction ot the arrow in thesaid iigure.

Similar letters ot' reference indicate corresponding parts in bothfigures.

This invention is more especially intended for turning jam-nuts andcouplings upon the faucets or pipes attached to wash-hand basins, which,from their peculiar position with regard to 4the basins, cannot beturned by a common wrench, and is also designed to dispense with themovable sets hitherto employed in wrenches for this purpose to adaptthem to nuts and couplings ot' dit't'erent sizes.

The invention consists in a novel arrangement upon the end of a suitableshank or bar ot' a iixed cross-piece provided with a stationary and asliding griping-jaw, and of an operating-screw, whereby a wrench isformed by which the nuts and couplings can be conveniently reached andturned, and which is easily adjusted to those ot' different sizes.

A is a cross-piece xed upon the end of a shank or bar, B, and upon oneend' of this cross-piece A is a fixed griping-jaw, C, the said fixed jawC being situated at right angles to the cross-piece A, upon which it isformed, and also transversely to the shank B, as clearly shown inthedrawings. Placed upon that endv of the cross-piece A opposite thefixed jaw U is a sliding griping-jaw, D, the said end of thecross-'piece passing through a suitable transverse slot in the slidingjaw D, the said jaw being parallel with the xed jaw G, and having aauge, a, which projects inward for a short distance upon the top andsides of the crosspiece A, in order to strengthen the said jaw D againstthe strain brought upon it in the operation of the wrench. Projectingdownward from the jaw D is alug or ear, b.

E is a screw which works in a transverse hole formed in the upper end ofthe shank B, immediately below the cross-pieceA, and which isparallelwith the said cross-piece', and has a head, d, upon one end, bymeans of which itis turned. This screw E passes through a female screwformed transversely in the lu g b, in such manner that by turning thesaid screw in one direction or the other, as required, by means ot' thehead d, as atoresaid, the slidingjaw D may be moved upon the cross-pieceA to adjust the distance between the two jaws to tit a nut or couplingof any desired size, and to retain the slidiugjaw D in place whileturning the same.

Fixed upon the lower end ot' the shank B isl a transverse handle, F, bymeans ot' which the wrench is tuined.

In using the wrench the upper end thereof, or, in other words, that endformed by thejaws C D, is thrust up into the narrow space occupied bythenut or coupling, and the jaws are tted upon the said nut or coupling, asthe case may be, by turning the screw E, and thus adjusting the saidjaws, as hereinbefore set forth. The wrench is then twisted or turnedaround in one direction or the other, according as it is desired totighten or loosen the init or coupling, by means of the handle F. Theshank B being turned vertically, or, in other Words, around itslongitudinal axis, the

wrench can be operated to turn the nuts or v with each other and withthe shank B, substantially as herein speciiied.

JOHN HEGARTY. Witnesses:

A. LECLERC, HENRY T. BROWN.

